How To Run Faster And Longer Without Getting Tired Or Injured


7 Steps To Better Running Form


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In this article you will learn 5 ways to breathe better and improve your recovery, speed, and endurance to kick ass in running and in life.

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1. Pay Attention to Your Breathing

The first step to improving your breathing is to pay attention to it. Breathing happens automatically so it’s easy to ignore. But if you pay attention to it, your breathing becomes a powerful tool to enhance physical and mental performance.

Close your eyes and observe your breath. Ask yourself the 3 following questions:

1. Am I breathing through the nose or mouth?

2. Am I breathing into the chest or abdomen?

3. Am I breathing fast or slow?

2. Breathe Through Your Nose

One of the many reasons to breathe through your nose is for better oxygen absorption. Breathing through your nose pulls more air into the lower parts of the lungs where there is more blood to absorb the oxygen.

Because our bodies and brains rely on oxygen to stoke our metabolic engines and provide energy, this is vitally important for every aspect of life. Nose breathing does this by slowing down the breath and facilitating the use of your diaphragm.

 

3. Use Your Diaphragm

The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle that sits at the top of the abdomen, separating the abdominal region from the rib cage. When it contracts, it pushes the abdominal organs down and outward. This creates space for air to enter the lungs.

You will know you are using your diaphragm when the abdominal region expands during your inhale. If your chest is moving more than your abdomen when you breath, you are only breathing at a fraction of your capacity.

4. Focus More on Your Exhale

If your want to make changes in your breathing, you may try to breathe deeper by taking more air in at the end of your inhale. This approach is likely to create extra tension in your body , which can cause mental and physical fatigue in addition to poor performance.

It’s like trying to fill an already filled balloon.

A better approach is to gently push a little more air out at the end of an exhale. This will create space for the next inhale to be very deep and effortless. This is easier because our muscles of exhalation are much more powerful than our muscles of inhalation.

Test this out by trying to move enough air to blow out a candle by inhaling.

5. Develop Your Breathing Muscles

The diaphragm is a muscle that can be strengthened and conditioned like any other muscle.

There are masks and other devices available that can give your inhalation some resistance  and train your muscles of breathing. However, it is important to optimize your technique before using these.

Adding resistance to poor technique may just reinforce bad habits. You would not want to place a loaded barbell on your shoulders and squat if your technique was poor or if you struggled just with your own body weight.

Likewise resisted mouth breathing wouldn’t be beneficial long term. Focus on developing the ability to rely on nostril breathing primarily.

If you first develop the ability to nose breath even at high intensities of running or other exercise, you will develop strength in the diaphragm and be ready for external resistance devices such as masks.

Author:
Nick Ortego is a health coach specializing in biohacking for runners. He integrates modern methods with the ancient wisdom of yoga to help runners get the most out of every aspect of life. He is the owner of N 2 Action, a wellness studio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, offering personal training, health coaching, yoga, and fascial stretch therapy.

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Run Better Now Coaching

Do you want to love running again?


So there I was after my first marathon.


I was hurting and I could barely walk. I could walk but I looked 50 years older than my 29 years.


I had fallen in love with running about 8 months earlier when I was on a family vacation. I ran every day near the beaches in Florida. Not Florida in July, but Florida in April.


The warm sun.


The cool breeze.


They combined with the steady rhythm of my feet hitting the ground and the wavelike motion of my breathing. It hypnotized me into a state of euphoria.


I went home from that vacation and immediately signed up for my first ever marathon.


But here I was now 8 months later and I couldn't bear the thought of running. I resigned to the idea that running just wasn't for me, or my body. It was like an abusive lover. It just beat me up too much.


I stopped running and just focused on other exercises.


Then one day a I was walking my little wiener dog at a local park wearing some five fingers. Those are the barefoot toe shoes that were trendy back then.


I looked at my little dog and he seemed to want to run. I decided to do a little sprint.


And it felt phenomenal. I loved running again. Everything was flowing, my form felt effortless. A eureka moment happened.


You see, when I was training for the marathon, I had tried to implement better running technique principles to no avail. My form would just go back to my default setting once I got even a little tired.


I knew what good running form looked like. I have a degree in the science of human movement. I did most of my biomechanics projects on running when I was in college. I read all the books about better running form. I tried to use the principles that I knew.


But I had been unable to put it into practice.


Now something had changed.


When I was not attached to running a certain distance or speed, I ran much better. I started treating running as a skill I was developing, rather than a mode of cardiovascular conditioning I was using to condition my body.


It worked. I enjoyed running again. I took another deep dive into studying the biomechanics of running. I was able to practice the principles of better running.


Since then, I've run several marathons faster than that first one that left me feeling crippled.


I've run a 50k and 100 mile ultra-marathons without feeling beat up.


That's a lie. I felt pretty demolished after the hundred miler. But that's to be expected.


I love running again.


But it hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns. I've made mistakes and learned. I got over-zealous with the little barefoot toe shoes and had to fix my plantar fasciitis again. (I'm prone to it apparently.)


Prevention beats treatment is one of the most valuable lessons I learned, by the way. I haven't had the plantar fasciitis issues in over 8 years now though.


As a trainer, I started using what I knew about corrective exercise and motor learning to help people run better.


And now, with the current state of internet technology, I can offer coaching online. I created a 3-month coaching program called Run Better Now Coaching.


With the Run Better Now coaching program you get all this.




  • You will improve all of your movement patterns so that you can run with optimized mechanical efficiency. This means a smoother, easier experience each time you run.

  • You will learn how to improve other lifestyle factors that can make or break your running performance. This includes nutrition, stress, sleep, and recovery.

  • No guesswork. You get a specifically detailed program specifically designed for your body and your schedule delivered on my online platform with instructional videos and unlimited feedback.

  • Constant guidance. Each week we meet remotely to adjust your program based on how it's going for you.

  • Unlimited consulting.  I answer all your questions by email or through my online training platform.


Click here to sign up for the 3-month program,  or read more if you're curious.


How Online Coaching Works


Here is what your get:




  • Movement Evaluation: An initial evaluation of your movement patterns and running form through video.

  • Program Design: An exercise and running program designed specifically for your needs, goals, and time constraints.

  • Unlimited Q & A: My online coaching platform allows you to send me messages and videos. I answer your questions and give you feedback for improving your technique.

  • Weekly Coaching Sessions: We meet online each week throughout the 3 month program for accountability and encouragement as well as program troubleshooting.

  • Integrated Health Coaching: I coach you on the other aspects of a healthy lifestyle that can make or break your running. This includes better sleep, nutrition, recovery, and stress management. 


Sign up for the Run Better Now (3-month) coaching program.


Movement Evaluation


I send you the instruction video and then you video yourself performing a set of movements and running. It's easy with your smart phone or other device.


I evaluate how you move and design a movement optimization program based on your movement patterns. I post your program and you log in to your account to view it. It comes with video demonstrations and instructions.



Customized Exercise Program


In addition to the movement optimization program, I design a running technique and strength training program just for you. I design it around your schedule and based on your abilities.


We periodize your program based on your races or events. We design the program and shift the variables so that your performance peaks at the specific time when you want to be your best.



Unlimited Consulting


You get unlimited questions answered by email or over the online coaching platform. The online platform allows you to attach videos to messages.


If you have any questions about your technique, just shoot a quick video of yourself with your smart phone or other device. Attach it to a message and send it to me.



Weekly Sessions


We meet up to 4 times a month throughout the 3-month program for accountability or encouragement. During this session, we can also troubleshoot your program and game plan for any upcoming events.


You get access to my personal calendar to set your coaching sessions up at your convenience. No back and forth messaging about available times necessary.



Integrated Health Coaching


So many things outside of running can affect your running. I coach you on those things as well. I can teach you how to get better quality sleep, recover better, beat stress, improve your mindset, eat better, and optimize your cognitive performance.


With the Run Better Now coaching program, you CAN run faster and longer with greater ease and without pain.


Get Started Now on the Run Better Now 3-Month Coaching Program
Nick Ortego
 

Nick Ortego has been a fitness professional since 1998. He holds a BS in kinesiology and is certified by the American Council on Exercise as an advanced health and fitness specialist, health coach and group fitness instructor. Ortego is also a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) with Yoga Alliance, a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, and a Certified Kettlebell Teacher with the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation.

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